It is not a flashy company, and you almost certainly won’t see it featured in Fortune anytime soon. In fact, you’ve probably never heard of it, but the ‘Big 3” ought to study up: Baldor Electric Company (BEC) paved a business model for companies to follow in bleak economic times. Trouble is ‘loyalty’ isn’t as catchy as ‘bailout’.

At a time when our nation cowers under a 6.5% unemployment rate, and the stock market is as volatile as Bob Knight on the side line of an Indiana college basketball game, millions of Americans are wondering what went wrong, how did it get this bad. Tonight, 1-2 million auto workers are not sleeping because the nightmares of ‘layoffs’ and ‘cuts’ flush slumber and sweet dreams down the proverbial tube and Congressional ‘leaders’ pander to their constituents on a daily basis – hedging against party loyalties, soft money contributions, and lobbyists. In the wake of an American icon failing and going belly-up, top executives plead for billions of your tax dollars in hopes of saving their company, and their defense is not failed management strategy but rather global financial stress.

Here’s The Deal…Teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, in 1929, BEC vowed no layoffs for any of its workers – and none were. Restructuring pay kept each worker employed, and the rising manufacturer weaved its way through the Great Depression and emerged as leading small motor company in the U.S. And, during the early 1980’s as the nation again faced economic downturn, the company invested in employees who could not read by starting a literacy program, and re-writing the instruction manuals.

Capitalism is not void of compassion; it just goes by a different name…loyalty. Those who say we should save GM should compare GM to BEC. In times of trouble and consternation loyalty can be the difference…and for those who believe the unions are to blame remember that for years those same unions tried to get into BEC and were rejected every time. Where’s the loyalty, where’s the accountability for GM?
The American people should not be loyal to a bailout.

In his first television interview since his historic election, President-elect Barack Obama said he will do “whatever it takes” to stabilize the economy, restore consumer confidence and create jobs to getting sound health care and energy policies through Congress, and developing a national security team is priority one.

WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama said that selecting his national security team is a top priority.

“I think it’s important to get a national security team in place because transition periods are potentially times of vulnerability to a terrorist attack,” Obama told CBS’ “60 Minutes” in an interview broadcast Sunday. “We want to make sure that there is as seamless a transition on national security as possible.”

In his first television interview since his historic election, Obama said he has spent the days since the election from doing “whatever it takes” to stabilize the economy, restore consumer confidence and create jobs to getting sound health care and energy policies through Congress.
The president-elect also said that as soon as he takes office he will work with his security team and the military to draw down U.S. troops in Iraq, shore up Afghanistan and “stamp out Al Qaeda once and for all.”

While investors are still riding a rollercoaster on Wall Street, Obama said the economy would have deteriorated even more without the $700 billion bank bailout. Re-regulation is a legislative priority, he said, not to crush “the entrepreneurial spirit and risk-taking of American capitalism” but to “restore a sense of balance.”

“There’s no doubt that we have not been able yet to reset the confidence in the financial markets and in the consumer markets and among businesses that allow the economy to move forward in a strong way,” Obama said. “And my job as president is going to be to make sure that we restore that confidence.”

Obama comes to the Oval Office with an ambitious list of campaign promises that will require Capitol Hill’s cooperation and approval, and the team he has been announcing in recent days is heavy on the legislative experience that Obama is lacking.

Obama resigned his Illinois Senate seat Sunday after just under four years of service, half of which he spent out on the presidential campaign trail.

During the campaign, Obama had Pete Rouse as his Senate chief of staff to take care of his business on Capitol Hill. On Sunday, Obama named Rouse to be a senior adviser in his White House. Rouse has 24 years of experience as a top Senate aide, also running the offices of former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Obama’s Illinois colleague, Democrat Sen. Dick Durbin.

Other names that have begun to roll out recently come with varying degrees of Washington experience. Obama is drawing on accomplished Chicago friends, longtime congressional aides and former Clinton administration officials, including some with ties to the Monica Lewinsky scandal.

The new chief of staff, Rep. Rahm Emanuel, combines the Chicago roots and the legislative connections. Vice President-elect Joe Biden’s chief of staff Ron Klain held the same role for Vice President Al Gore.

Obama has picked Mona Sutphen and Jim Messina as his deputy chiefs of staff. Like Rouse, Messina has served as chief of staff for three different lawmakers and has a vast network of relationships to show for it that he can tap on Obama’s behalf.

Philip Schiliro, who has more than 25 years experience working for Congress, is Obama’s liaison to Capitol Hill.

Biden, a longtime senator from Delaware, has said he intends to be a frequent voice on the Hill and use his 36 years of experience as a lawmaker to promote the administration’s agenda. That’s a departure from Vice President Dick Cheney, who only appeared occasionally on the Hill to meet with Republican members and cast a tie-breaking vote.

In the CBS interview, Obama also said Americans shouldn’t worry about the federal deficit for the next couple of years.

“The most important thing is that we avoid a deepening recession,” he said.

He said there hadn’t been enough done to address the plight of homeowners facing foreclosure.
“We’ve gotta set up a negotiation between banks and borrowers so that people can stay in their homes,” Obama said.

The president-elect also urged help for the auto industry.

Obama also confirmed reports that he intends to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and “make sure we don’t torture” as “part and parcel of an effort to regain America’s moral stature in the world.”

Obama also said he plans to put Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden in the crosshairs.

“I think capturing or killing bin Laden is a critical aspect of stamping out Al Qaeda,” Obama said. “He is not just a symbol, he’s also the operational leader of an organization that is planning attacks against U.S. targets.”

Read more at : http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/16/security-economy-precedence-obama-tells-cbs/

Administration aides say President Bush is unhappy that his discussion Monday with President-elect Barack Obama was leaked and cast as a horse trade between signing a second economic stimulus bill in exchange for congressional passage of the Colombia Free Trade deal.

President Bush is unhappy the conversation held Monday between him and President-elect Barack Obama has been cast as a trade-off between Bush signing a second stimulus package in exchange for congressional passage of the Colombia Free Trade Deal,” administration officials told FOX News on Tuesday.

Obama asked Bush to help the sagging auto industry during their private meeting in the White House, senior aides to both men said. Bush stressed the need to work with Colombia, but to make it sound like a horse trade is unfair and inaccurate, an aide told FOX News.

The Bush administration, along with Congress, negotiated a $700 billion rescue package last month for the financial industry, but federal officials are resisting Democratic calls for a similar bailout for automakers, despite warnings that General Motors might not survive the year.

Democrats want a second stimulus that would include aid to Detroit’s big three automakers, unemployment benefits and infrastructure projects.

Bush’s desire to pass the Colombia Free Trade deal on its merits is no secret, a senior White House aide told FOX News. But that deal has been frozen by the Democratic majority in Congress.

The U.S. and Colombia are close allies, and the president wants to increase trade between the two countries. But Democrats say a deal would mean more jobs being exported, which is taboo for a party supported by a heavily unionized workforce that elected Obama.

Democrats say they also object to the human rights climate in Colombia, which union leaders have described as seriously threatening to workers. Colombia’s government says such claims are blown out of proportion and workers are protected.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Democrats have suggested that neither Obama nor congressional leaders are willing to concede the Colombia pact to Bush and they may choose to wait to hold off on a new stimulus bill until Obama becomes president on Jan. 20.

Bush aides said the president is unhappy the conversation between him and Obama was leaked to the media at all, and insisted the two leaders were not engaged in a quid pro quo between the automakers and a free trade pact.

“President Bush did not suggest a quid pro quo. Both leaders discussed ideas for the economy. The president has long said free trade helps create jobs and opens markets to our businesses. We believe the free trade agreements can and should pass today on their merits,” said press secretary Dana Perino.

Senior aides to both men said the two issues were part of a long discussion about automakers and the ability of the trade deal to help not only the economy but also a key ally. A senior administration official suggested that Obama be careful to keep his counsel.

Deutsche Bank on Monday downgraded GM to sell from hold, with a price target of $0, saying the carmaker may not be able to fund its U.S. operations beyond December without government intervention, FOX Business Network reported.

Deutsche Bank said it believes the U.S. government will be compelled to intervene through a capital infusion or loan.

“Without government assistance, we believe that GM’s collapse would be inevitable, and that it would precipitate systemic risk that would be difficult to overcome for automakers, suppliers, retailers, and sectors of the U.S. economy,” the broker said. Even if GM avoids bankruptcy, equity shareholders are unlikely to get anything back, it added.

FOX News’ Bret Baier contributed to this report.

More at http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/11/obama-urges-bush-help-auto-indusstry/